FMA Drabbleage
by Dustwind
Summary: Just had to get in on the drabble action... even though they're kind of long for drabbles. Rating may change. Various pairings (het and otherwise) and subjects.
1. Default Chapter

**The Bet**

"Alright, Hawkeye. Pay up."

"…"

First Lt. Hawkeye gave Second Lt. Havoc her most deadly glare. Plants withered, clouds darkened the sky, Black Hayate cringed behind his mistress' desk, paperwork burst spontaneously into flame, the entire Eastern Headquarters froze, waiting for a reaction.

Havocjustlifted one sardonic eyebrow.

"You're such a sore loser."

He was rewarded with a low growl.

Hawkeye considered her position. There really was no way out. A bet was a bet, after all; and theyhad shakenhands on it. She just hadn't expected Jean to do as well as he did. Granted, it had been a while since they'd practiced at the range together, but how was she supposed to know he would have improved that much with a pistol? Rifles were his thing.

She'd been so damned confident the terms hadn't even worried her. As a consequence, she was a bit relaxed during her performance, not wanting to beat him too badly.

Boy had that backfired. Now she saw why he had insisted she shoot before him. "Ladies first" be damned.

And it would have been great to get him to stop smoking for a whole week. She never thought she would have to hold up her end of the deal.

"I promised you, Second Lt, that if you outshot me, which you did not, that I would stop smoking for a week. You promised me, Second Lt., that if I outshot you, which I did, you would allow me one free chance to touch you wherever I please."

Hawkeye sighed at the roguish grin that followed his speech. Nope. She was stuck.

"Fine, whatever. Get it over with so we can all just go back to work."

Havoc smiled as she stood up. She was still giving the death glare, but he'd been getting that for years. It lost its force after a while.

He stopped just in front of her, towering over her smaller frame. Hawkeye did not appreciate the impish glint in his eye. She braced herself as he lifted one hand and reached for her…

Hand?

She watched in fascination as he tenderly took her smaller hand in his large one, gently turning it over, exposing her wrist.

Slowly, he bent over their entwined hands, and softly kissed her wrist.

As he walked away, Hawkeye had a hard time explaining to herself a sudden shortness of breath, an odd disappointment, and a disconcerting fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

_A/N: Shameless fangirling right here. Shameless jumping onto the drabble bandwagon, as well. The diaries were refusing to be written, so I started these. More to come. Reviews are life!_


	2. You're Never Too Big

_A/N: Here's the Roy/Ed y'all wanted! Once again, it's ridiculously long. Sorry it's angsty, but I liked it. Oh, and sorry about running the words together in the last one, I swear that was FFN and not me! If it does it here, I will be so mad. Wow, I need to update this more often…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own FMA._

_Warnings: Uh, Roy/Ed, swearing, implied violence_

**You're Never Too Big**

The water in the shower had long since turned cold. The only warmth was the wetness on his face, and that wasn't coming from the showerhead. He let it run. It didn't matter.

"Fullmetal! What are you doing? You've been in there for two hours!"

He tried to ignore the voice just outside the door. So what if he'd been there for a long time? It wasn't like Roy needed the shower or anything. He wasn't the one who'd been drenched in blood tonight. He wasn't the one scraping it out from under his fingernails, from in between the joints in his automail. He wasn't the one who was dirty.

It was his own fault anyway for bringing Ed back to his house after the mission when all Ed had wanted to do was go back to the dorms. Roy wouldn't hear of it, though, going so far as to actually throw him into the back of the car. He hadn't found the strength to resist then, just like he couldn't find the strength to get out of the water now, even though it was cold enough to make him shiver.

"Fullmetal, you need to leave before the water level rises above your abysmally small figure and drowns you."

He found he couldn't make a retort. He couldn't even get up the motivation to growl.

"Are you okay, Edward?"

Silence was his only reply.

"I'm coming in."

"What?" That at least, got a reaction. Roy entered to find a very shocked and red-faced (though from tears or embarrassment Roy couldn't guess) Edward staring at him from behind an all too transparent shower curtain.

Immediately taking in the freezing quality of the air filled with drops of ice water and Ed's shivering form, Roy ignored his own answering blush and grabbed the nearest towel, throwing it across the boy's shoulders and hugging him to his chest.

"Ed, you're freezing cold!" With that, he began to vigorously rub Ed's shoulders and back, trying to get some circulation back into the tiny pale form.

"Get off me Roy! It's not your business what I do in the goddamn shower! Roy!"

But the colonel was not about to be dissuaded. Perhaps it was because Ed's tirade was delivered in a voice so broken with tears and shivering that he almost couldn't make out the words, or maybe it was some latent protective instinct creeping up on him, but he was not content to let the young major he had become so fond of lately drown himself in a freezing shower for something that wasn't his fault in the first place.

And that's exactly what he said, well, minus the "fond" part. Ed really wasn't ready for that yet. He probably wouldn't take too kindly to having their carefully balanced relationship turned on its head.

Which was why he was so surprised when the fiery youth gave up easily and started sobbing into his shoulder.

"It will be okay Edward; it wasn't your fault."

"Shut up!"

"You shut up! You think you're the only one who ever makes mistakes? What about _my_ mistakes Edward? What about me sending you on a mission that you weren't ready for when I didn't even know all the facts? What about me using you in a capacity I swore I'd never subject you to? I failed _you_ Edward…I never meant for you to have to kill."

"I've killed before." At least he'd stopped shivering from cold. Now he was shaking with reaction to what he'd done, to what Roy had made him do.

"Completing a mission that accidentally results in a death is quite different than actually killing a human with your own hands, Ed."

"I should have found another way."

Roy sighed. He took so much upon himself. Kind of reminded him of another young alchemist he used to know.

"Edward, you can't save everyone. You're not God. It was that kind of arrogance that got you into this situation in the first place wasn't it? Let it go, _chibi-chan_."

His statement was met with more exhausted tears. Belatedly, Roy realized Ed was still wearing only the towel, now soaked in freezing water. That would not do.

"Come on, Ed. We need to get you into something warmer."

Roy pulled a bathrobe out of his closet that was usually reserved for his female visitors (who had been very few since he'd realized just how fond of a certain belligerent alchemist he'd become) and hoped Ed wasn't in a state to take exception to its pink color.

With Ed decently clothed, Roy settled the both of them onto the armchair by his window. It was a measure of how heartsick the eldest Elric had become that he only gave a feeble protest to the contact.

"I'm too big to be held on your lap," Ed objected quietly and without conviction.

Roy just ran comforting hands through Ed's drying hair. Who knew? It might be the only chance he'd ever get to do so.

"You're never too big to be held, Edward; you're never too big."

And Roy protected his temporarily subdued young charge the only way he could.

FIN

_Have no idea where_ chibi-chan _came from. It seemed to fit_.


	3. Snuggling

_For Dominus, because I was asked so nice..._

**Snuggling**

Maes tiptoed into the bedroom with only the light of a half moon coming in through the open window to guide him. The darkness didn't matter; he could have walked the path blindfolded. He'd had so many late nights of paperwork recently that it was actually a very rare thing for him to go to bed while Gracia still had the lights on.

Maes decided he worked too much.

Tonight the light was just bright enough for him to make out the vague shape of his wife under the comforter. She wasn't asleep; her breathing was a little too rapid for that, but she didn't get up to greet him like she usually did.

Closer inspection told him why. Right next to the graceful curves that outlined Gracia's form was a small lump with an unmistakable crown of soft brown hair.

Now that he was closer, he could see his wife's face beaming at him. They were both smitten, that was sure, helplessly in the thrall of a mere toddler around which both of their worlds revolved.

As endearing as he found Elysia's habit of snuggling with mommy in "the big bed" (she wouldn't go to her own bed unless Daddy tucked her in) it certainly made…other aspects of his life quite difficult.

Before he took care of that little detail, however, Maes couldn't resist but to reach over to the nightstand and grab one of the many cameras he had stashed about the house. The flash didn't even wake his daughter up, so deep were her dreams.

"Maes, I am beginning to believe I have taken second place to another girl in your life," breathed Gracia into her husband's ear as he leaned over to scoop up the little bundle on his bed.

He answered with a boyish grin as he stood to take Elysia to her own room. "Now, now, Gracia, don't get mad. I swear I'm not cheating on _either_ of you!"

She was hard put to hide her sleepy chuckles as the loves of her life went to the adjacent room.

Elysia gave barely a burble as Maes folded the sheets gently around her and kissed her forehead softly. He resisted the urge to make use of the camera hidden in this room; after all, he had other matters to attend to in the other room.

Matters which did not involvethe deeply breathing Gracia he foundsound asleep underneath the covers, exhausted with waiting up until all hours of the night for her husband to come to bed. He sighed. He definitely worked too much. Oh well.

She looked so peaceful. A small smile on her lips spoke of pleasant dreams. Maes' eyes inevitably traveled to the strap of her lacy nightgown that had somehow made its way partly down her arm.

Well, maybe those other matters could wait. Still…

Gracia didn't wake at the flash of the camera, either. Before Maes eased into bed beside her he made a mental note to be absolutely sure _he_ was the one to get that particular role of film developed. The pictures of Elysia would go into his wallet, of course, to be passed around the office, the bar, or wherever he happened to be at the time.

But one picture was not for the office, or the bar, or any of those places.

One would go into that special drawer in his desk that no one ever opened, and that no one ever saw.

And that was the only way he ever got through any late nights of work.

FIN

_A/N: This is straight out of my life, by the way. My Dad used to have to tuck me into bed every single night after I fell asleep with Mom._

_By the way, I have decided I really like requests. Any more? _

_Dominus: This is for you! Hope you like._

_Kori hime: Okay, I'm just glad I didn't accidentally steal chibi-chan from someone. Heh. Glad you liked. I have no drabbles to request at this moment, but don't think I forgot your promise! (Evil grin…)_

_Anime Monster: Just so you know, this is like, record update time for me. Am working on it, but some things are harder to write (gives diaries an evil glare)._

_Muchas gracias to Shale, confusedalchemist, and genkai-chan for reviewing as well._


	4. You Know What They Say

_This is for Dru. It's Ed/Hawkeye…I think…kind of…well, it's what came to mind, anyway._

_Heh…so…I forgot the disclaimer last time. Shockingly, I still do not own FMA, even without a disclaimer…_

_Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim…_

**You Know What They Say…**

"My, my, Fullmetal. You're temper is rather _short_ today, isn't it?"

"Who you callin' so short you could crush him with a flyswatter if only you could see him?"

"I never said that, Fullmetal."

Edward ground his teeth together. Roy was in an especially antagonistic mood today.

"You were thinking it."

Roy's only answer was a smirk.

Actually Ed didn't really care how short Roy thought he was. He didn't even really care that he took every opportunity to remind him that he had yet to reach five feet.

But did he have to do it in front of _her_?

"Colonel, you have other appointments today. I suggest you wrap this up," a demure Hawkeye said unobtrusively from the corner she had been occupying throughout the entire altercation.

"Yes, of course, Hawkeye. I don't have any more time to spend on children."

"WHO'S A KID?" Edward yelled in exasperation, intending to continue but reconsidering when he saw Hawkeye's hand inch toward her gun. She did not like falling behind schedule. He decided to retreat before he lost any more of his dignity. She was probably laughing at him enough already.

Not that he thought he had any chance with Hawkeye whatsoever, but it was really annoying to be taken apart in front of a pretty girl, even if she was aloof and military and…nice to him when no one else was.

Maybe it shouldn't have surprised him, then, when a familiar blonde-haired lieutenant joined him on the steps outside where he was nursing his shattered pride.

"Don't worry about what the Colonel says, Ed. He just likes to get a rise out of people, and you have to admit, you do react in such a spectacular manner sometimes…"

Ed just gave a grunt that conveyed very clearly the lack of consolation he got from that statement and tried not to make eye contact.

Hawkeye sighed. She'd have to make a note to point out to Roy the fragility of young male egos. Not to mention how close Roy's own head really was to the ground. But for now, she had to fix this.

"You know, Ed, it's not so bad to be short."

Another grunt.

"Really, Edward, don't you know what they say about short guys?"

Well, at least she got a questioning glance this time.

"The shorter they are in height, the more they make up for it in…other areas."

Five…four…three…two…one…

As she watched a spectacular blush spread across Edward's features, something mischievous was awakened in Hawkeye.

"Really, Edward, why do you think Havoc's so into Fury?"

Edward really did have the most spectacular reactions sometimes. He must have jumped three, four feet off the ground straight from his sitting position.

Ed took a moment to regain coherency. "Uh, you're joking, right? Hawkeye?"

"Edward, I'm surprised," Hawkeye tossed over her shoulder as she walked away. "You know very well I have no sense of humor."

Edward felt downright cheerful when he realized how much shorter than Roy he really was.

FIN

_More requests please! And I'll answer questions and stuff, but I'm not going to answer all reviews…takes too much space._

_Dominus: Pictures of Gracia, of course, in varying states of undress! _

_Dru: So, does this suffice? _

_Kori hime: Pimp me!_

_Thanks everyone!_


	5. Strays

**Strays**

On the whole, Fury supposed being small wasn't really all that bad.

It kept him out of a lot of the fighting, even though he was as good as Roy with a gun. Then, if he did have to fight, enemies just saw his size and not his increased agility and speed. Come to think of it, that might be part of Ed's success.

But unlike Ed, Fury didn't have automail parts to make him stronger.

So when he saw the German Shepard lying on the side of the road, he wondered how exactly he was supposed to carry it all the way back to the dorms, much less sneak it in.

_It _evolved into _her_ as Fury came closer. And she was still breathing. Pretty tough, even German Shepards were small compared to cars.

"Easy, girl," he cooed as he looked her over for injuries. Broken ribs, shattered leg (though the shoulder joint was intact), multiple bruises. He didn't feel any swelling or heat to signify internal bleeding but moving her would be risky, especially since carrying her was not going to be smooth going. He probably weighedonly half again what the dog did.

"Whatcha doin', Cain?" said Havoc's easy drawl from somewhere behind him. Fury looked around to see his superior watching him, a look of concern on his usually deadpan face. Seeing the dog, Havoc stamped out his cigarette and came closer to investigate.

"Gotta get her off the road."

Cain nodded at Havoc's statement. It wouldn't do anybody any good if they got hit, too. It seemed odd to Cain that Havoc knew enough about dogs to sex her with a glance. He doubted Havoc could do that from just eating them. He smiled at this new insight into the Second Lieutenant's pokerfaced exterior.

"Thank you, Second Lieutenant," Cain said as Havoc, with not a little effort, picked up the Shepard and turned to face the smaller man.

"It's Jean, Cain; we're off duty."

"Yes, sir, uh, Jean."

"So where are we taking her, Cain?" asked a slightly bemused Havoc.

Cain gulped. Havoc was still his superior, and he probably wouldn't be too pleased that Cain was going to break the rules and bring an animal into the dorms. Maybe his indecision showed on his face because Havoc was quick to say, "Never mind. I know you want to take her with you, but how are you planning on keeping her a secret? I guess we'll just have to go to my place. It's not that far. Come on."

With that the blond turned again and set off, leaving a slightly relieved, slightly nervous Cain to follow. True, it wasa tadmore legal to keep the dog with Havoc, but wasn't _Cain_ the one who would have to care for her? Unless Havoc knew how…

As Cain caught up, though, something must have again been evident on his face because Havoc was quick to state, "Well I don't know anything much about treating injured dogs. You're going to have to stay with me until she's better."

"Sir?"

"Jean."

"Oh, yeah. Okay, I mean, sure, if that's alright with you."

Having gotten over his concern, Havoc's face was once again unadulterated deadpan. "Of course it's alright with me, Cain. I like pets."

Cain had to wonder which of the two strays Havoc was referring to.

FIN

_A/N: Had to get some Havoc/Fury out there since it's still my favorite FMA pairing. Well, I guess it's Havoc/Fury…if you think that way…meh._

_Acey Dearest: Of course you can request Al/Winry! Just give me some time to brainstorm; I don't write that a lot._

_Anime Monster: Reverse compensation! OMG that's it exactly!_

_Kori hime: Actually, this snuck through because of too much Spades reading…_

_Dominus: I live to please…_

_Thanks to everyone for reviewing._


	6. Shaving

_Disclaimer: So…I forgot the disclaimer **again** in the last one. Sigh. I'm too scatterbrained to own FMA…_

**Shaving**

"Fullmetal, what did you do to your face?" asked a slightly bemused Roy when a severely cut up and raw-faced Edward Elric stomped into his office.

He was unable to translate the grunt he received in response into anything that resembled a satisfactory answer, so he decided to push the issue.

"You haven't been sent on a mission lately, Fullmetal, so you can't possibly have injured yourself that way."

Glare.

"Did you lose a fight to one of Alphonse's kittens?"

No, that probably wasn't it, Roy decided as he dodged a well-thrown stapler. He doubted Edward had been bullied by anyone around the office, either, partly because of Edward's famous self-defense skills and partly because the Colonel had made it very clear that Roy himself had a monopoly on Edward-antagonizing rights.

No, it was probably not an outside force that had brought the young alchemist to this condition.

Young…

"Edward, come closer," demanded the Colonel.

Edward, with a carefully dispassionate look, reluctantly did as he was told.

And now that he was closer to Roy and the light of the windows, the Colonel could see the telltale stubble that lingered on Edward's cheeks and the reddened quality of the skin around the cuts.

He was hard-put to swallow a guffaw.

"You didn't do this shaving, by any chance, did you Edward?"

Roy found it impossible to choke down his chuckles when Edward's blush gave him all the answer he required.

The chuckles turned to unrestrained laughter as Edward fled the room.

* * *

"Stupid Colonel!" Edward muttered to himself in the dormitory bathroom a number of days later when the returning fuzz forced him to repeat the ritual which had brought so much embarrassment several days before. 

What a position to be in. He hated Hohenheim even more at times like this. His father had left before Ed or Al ever had to worry about shaving.

And he couldn't ask Al, for obvious reasons.

The only other person he _would_ feel comfortable talking to about subjects such as this would have been Maria Ross, and she was not only farawayin Central, but she was a woman.

So he couldn't go to her, either, for other obvious reasons.

Thus, he was forced to go it alone in the dorms. At least, that was his intent.

So lost was he in his thoughts he didn't even see Roy enter the room.

"Fullmetal, please tell me you are not about to use that dry razor on your face."

Well that brought him out of his contemplations quick enough.

"Who are you calling so short he…uh…what?"

Roy ignored Edward's reflexive outburst and held out a can of shaving cream. "You have to use water and cream, or else you'll get razor burn again and will be more likely to cut yourself."

"Oh." Ed took the can from Roy and inspected the nozzle, trying to figure out how to get the cream out.

And promptly squirted himself in the eye.

"Ow!" He glared at Roy with his one good eye.

And promptly got splashed with water from the sink.

"Wash your face first, Edward. If you don't, dirt could get into any cuts you get and it'll make it harder for the razor to work."

Edward sighed and did as he was told. Again.

Once he was clean, things went a lot smoother.

"Edward, stop pressing so hard; you're shaving your face, not attacking a chimera. And shave _with _the grain, not against it."

Okay, maybe not so much.

"What are you talking about?"

He got a sigh in reply.

"Like this, Edward."

Roy applied some cream to his own face and showed Ed how the hair goes different ways in some places and how to change the angle of the blade so that it didn't scrape the skin underneath too harshly.

And the casual observer, seeing the two so deep in concentration in front of the mirror, genially engaged in this time-honored ritual of male bonding, would never have guessed how much the younger boy needed the older man next to him, or how happy the older man was to be there.

FIN

_A/N: Well…if it's not Roy/Ed, it's Roy and Ed. This just popped into my head earlier as something that could totally happen to poor Ed. Oh, and I'm a girl, so I may have gotten some of the details wrong…never had to shave my face myself. _


	7. Peace

_Disclaimer: tsimehclA latemlluF nwo ton od I._

_Warnings: Takes place post-series. Use of the word "whuffle" which Microsoft spellchecker insists is not a word. I beg to differ. _

_This was written for Acey Dearest, who needs to know that I had a ridiculous amount of fun writing this._

**Peace**

Pinako sat quietly in her rocking chair by the low fire, by all appearances, snoozing. Her eyes were closed against the warm light of the glowing embers. A well-worn wool blanket was draped over her knees to keep the chill away. Her breathing was calm and steady; glasses just a bit askew; pipe forgotten on her lap. Den whuffled in his sleep at her feet, paws chasing dreams and fantasies with meanings understandable only to those of the canine persuasion.

Al was found in front of the fire as well, soaking up the heat. He loved to watch the light play on his skin and to feel the gentle waves of warmth on his arms and face. Now, however, not only could he watch the fire, he could feel it. With his eyes closed, he felt his cheeks glow with the heat of the coals. It was all he could do to just stand there and revel in the sensation.

All was calm and peaceful. Pinako had given up her relentless teasing and verbal banter in lieu of a fireside nap. Al had decided to take advantage of this rare moment of serenity to re-accustom himself to the wide range of sensation and perception of the human body.

Yes, indeed, all was very tranquil in the Rockbell household.

Too much so for a certain wrench-throwing, vivacious young mechanic who had had just about enough sitting around and waiting for her short life, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, she observed, the others in the house did not share her impatience. She did not wish to invite any irritated scolding by waking up her grandmother, nor did she feel it was her place to interrupt Al's meditation in front of the fire; he'd waited too long to be able to experience his body at will.

Her grandmother, watching beneath lowered lashes, however, did not share this sentiment.

It had been a long time since anyone had made the mistake of thinking Pinako to be anything less than a mischievous, lively personality, even in her old age. Winry had never made that mistake; and as a consequence, Pinako found herself with precious few opportunities to catch her young charge off guard.

Which is why she was profoundly pleased to see her granddaughter so immersed in her observation of young Alphonse that she did not pay attention to exactly how close to her impish grandmother's chair she was walking. All Pinako really would have to do would be to shift slightly in her sleep…

Just like that actually. A very slight stretch and…

Winry, her foot taken out from underneath her, collided quite spectacularly with the young blond before the fire, who was caught very off guard indeed.

Alphonse, also quite spectacularly, used muscle memory gathered from years of protecting kittens from his rough and tumble lifestyle (which he had thought long-gone) to agilely fall with Winry on top, protected from the hardwood floor.

He had a brief moment to contemplate exactly how one developed muscle memory when one was a suit of armor.

He then had another moment to watch in amusement as Winry sat up halfway from her position on his stomach (now fluttering most persistently) to shoot her grandmother a scathing glare, which soon changed to confusion, and then amusement when she found the woman was still asleep.

The next moment, in which Winry turned back to her floor cushion…ahem…the younger Elric brother with a decidedly mischievous look (disturbingly reminiscent of her grandmother if he had cared to notice), passed in slow motion. He really couldn't understand how her face seemed to be getting so close to his, or why it felt like her fists were tangled up in his shirt, or how exactly his hands had gotten to that particular spot on her lower back…

And then Alphonse stopped counting the moments. He was slightly distracted by the marvelous feeling of being kissed by his Winry, and the tingling on his scalp when she ran her hands through his hair, and the way her hips were just the right shape to fit his hands, and the thought that it would be really nice to take those hands lower, to her wonderful, round…

Slap.

"ALPHONSE ELRIC!"

Peace is a really very fragile thing in the Rockbell household.

As Pinako finally relinquished her charade so as to be able to watch the ensuing wrench throwing with open amusement, she realized she wouldn't have it any other way.

FIN

_As I said, I had way too much fun writing this. I have also discovered an inexplicable love for mischievous Pinako. She might be showing up again._

_Acey Dearest: Here ya go! Thanks for reviewing and the request._

_Dominus: Ah! Glad you're better now._

_Anime Monster: Yeah, I kind of used that as my experience basis for the shaving one. Guys are so lucky all they have to shave is their face…_

_Fireun: Glad you're loving._

_Genkai-chan: Thank ya muchly._

_Mandy 138: Oops. Sorry. Go ahead and post anyway, it's not like I own the idea. Great minds think alike! So…if we think alike, must it follow we have great minds? _

_Phishy Chan: Awesome! The father-son relationship was EXACTLY what I was going for, but I didn't want to come out and have to say that's what it is. Your review made me so happy…_

_Shale 101: Mmmm. I like sweet._

_Look! (points) A drabble a day for the last 3 days! Yippee!_


	8. Signs of Affection

_A/N: Yeah, so the last time I posted was…heh. Well, it was the end of the semester and all. But now I'm home, my room is set up, and I have the subbed version of FMA sitting on my desk. That has more errors than fan fiction. Oh well…_

_But I'm back. And I'm not making any promises (because I break them) but I should be updating more often._

_Warnings: Did Winry and Havoc ever actually meet in the series? And I know she doesn't really tie up her hair, but I have a reason…_

_Drabble length? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…ha._

**Signs of Affection**

Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc walked lazily to his favorite spot on the outskirts of Central. There was no pavement, no buildings, no noisy cars-- even though as a general rule he _liked_ cars-- and no annoying brats yelling at arrogant colonels while scary women loaded their guns in the background.

There was, however, a weathered fence, a dirt road, and an oak tree that he had grown particularly fond of these last few months. It was not too far from his apartment, but far enough out that he could practice without fear of hurting anyone. Not that he'd ever miss his target, of course.

He would use the practice range at headquarters, but then he'd be in a place where Roy could easily find him if he suddenly found extra work to be done. And he was sick of getting shown up by Hawkeye every damn time.

Actually, he was kind of avoiding Hawkeye altogether at that moment.

The place was quiet and almost pastoral. It reminded him of home, even though the silence did get kind of lonely sometimes. Havoc never saw anyone else there. Maybe he was the only one disturbed by the constant bustle and unfeeling anonymity of the city.

Today had been particularly harrowing. He'd had a gun pointed at him three separate times. The first was Hawkeye yelling at him to do his paperwork. That wasn't serious, though; they all knew she was aiming at some point on the wall behind them when she did that. The second time was much worse.

He'd been sent with Breda to break up a "non-violent" picket line outside of a downtown factory and things had gotten ugly. Intelligence had said they were unarmed, but Havoc had somehow found himself on the wrong end of a rifle in front of a bunch of angry strikers. Only Breda's quick thinking and a well-timed tackle had got him out of that one.

Roy was going to make heads roll for the incomplete information.

Things like that happened when Maes was on vacation.

The third was Hawkeye--again--after the cleanup. She'd pointed it straight at him and told him that if he was ever enough of an idiot to get into that type of situation again she'd kill him herself.

Crazy woman.

He had passed the last house a few minutes ago and was just coming up to the bend that lead to the straight dirt path and oak. He took his rifle off his shoulder and wondered if the target he'd set up the week before had survived the high winds that had come with yesterday's storm when…

"Arrrggghhhhh!" Thwack.

A very surprised and somewhat bemused Havoc rounded the bend in the road and came upon a very irritated looking young girl throwing--were those wrenches?--at his target on the tree.

She evaluated her shot by the dent she left on the red and white bulls-eye, not realizing that she suddenly had company. He saw her nod to herself and reach down to the toolbox set on the fence to her left. She withdrew another wrench and took aim.

Her blonde hair tied up in a utilitarian manner, and a peculiar gleam in her eye as she meticulously took aim and fir…er…threw her wrench gave Havoc a disconcerting reminder of Hawkeye.

As did the fact that her wrench hit the exact center of the target.

"Not a bad shot, Missy."

She squawked in a decidedly un-Hawkeye-ish manner at his voice and cast a dubious glance first at his uniform and then at his rifle. Havoc saw her reach down and draw another wrench from the box, turn to face him, and raise it above her head.

Now normally, Havoc didn't get too worried when women tried to through things at him. In his experience, it was better to let them release a little anger and then try to talk.

But that was a disturbingly large and accurate dent on the target…

Havoc was more than sick of having people aim things in his general direction. He dropped the gun and waved his arms.

"Ah! Hey, wait, Missy! I'm not here to hurt you. That's my target you're using. This is where I practice when things get a little hectic in the office, what with Hawkeye being all angry and the Colonel and Fullmetal always going at it and all…" he trailed off as the girl lowered the wrench and smiled.

"You know Edward?"

"Yeah."

Her smile suddenly grew feral and Havoc couldn't help but flinch when she whipped around and threw the wrench at the target.

"Aaarrggghhhh!" Dead center.

"Um…" Havoc gulped as she turned back toward him and dug in the box for yet another wrench. "Does my target somehow offend you, Missy?"

"No." Thwack. "_Edward_ offends me. First (thwack) he goes and breaks his automail that I meticulously make for him and then (thwack) he won't tell me how. After that, he refuses to thank me (thwack) for taking the time to come all the way out to Central to fix him and tells me 'You can go now,' just like that! As if I haven't done anything! Ungrateful jerk!" Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

Her anger seemed exhausted after that, and she slumped to the ground in defeat. Peeking into her box, Havoc saw she was out of ammunition and decided it was safe enough to sit down, too. So this was Ed's infamous mechanic.

"I know what you mean, Missy. I drive him anywhere Roy asks me to and all he has to say is, 'Geez, Havoc, you smoke like a chimney,' or 'Guess Roy stole another one of your girls if you're stuck driving me around on a Friday night…'"

Maybe that wasn't the best subject to be discussing around the beautiful blonde sitting next to him.

"Anyways, I'm Jean Havoc."

"Winry Rockbell."

They sat in silence for a while. Havoc contemplated loading the rifle and taking a few shots, but figured the target was pretty much dead at this point and really didn't need any further abuse. Considering Havoc's experiences today, he actually felt kind of sorry for it.

Winry was apparently thinking along the same lines. "Sorry about your target. I think I messed it up pretty bad."

"Forget it. That's what it's for. Besides, better you take it out on an inanimate object than Ed's head." Winry saddened.

"Edward's been telling stories."

"Actually, Alphonse has been telling stories."

Winry sighed. "So Ed never talks about me and Al makes me out to be a psycho. Great."

"Ah, that's not what I meant…" For about the millionth time in his life, Havoc wished he was better with women.

"Forget it. I'm used to it." Another silence.

"You know, I only get mad at them because I worry for them. They go places I can't follow and get hurt and the only thing I can do is try to make Ed's automail better for the next time. But they don't even consider me important enough to let me in on what's going on. The only reaction I ever get out of them is when I throw things. It's the only thing that makes them listen to reason. If I don't threaten them, they won't even think twice about breaking the automail and take even more stupid risks!"

Huh. Hadn't Hawkeye said something similar to him that afternoon? _Havoc. You don't even take missions seriously unless I point a gun at you. You need to take more care. From this point on, take it for granted that my gun is always pointed in your direction even if I'm not there. You can't afford to be so laid back any more._

Oh yeah. It was after that tirade that she'd threatened to kill him if he was everso stupid again.

So from women...violence signifies…affection?

"I wouldn't worry too much, Winry. I think they have the message."

* * *

The next day at headquarters, Havoc caught Hawkeye alone in the coffee room. 

"Hey Hawkeye."

"Yes, Second Lieutenant?"

"Thanks."

A short silence. And a small, but genuine, smile.

"Understood, Jean."

FIN

Reviews are love!

_**Asecret Kitsune:** Thanks! I swear Pinako's the biggest trouble maker of them all. More manipulative than Roy, even…but that's why we love her! _

_**Dominus**: Oh I know, I can't wait for the movie, either. But we're going to have to wait a while to get it here, aren't we? Unless you're in Japan… _

_**Anime Monster**: I will do a Roy/Ed mischievous Pinako sometime, but I'm going to try to do some other stuff first because there's way too much Roy/Ed out there in my opinion. I'm experimenting. This was supposed to be slight Havoc/Winry for example, but then it ran away and decided to be Havoc/Hawkeye or even general. Sigh. But I haven't deleted the request in my inbox, so I'll remember. _

_**Phishy Chan**: Aw, thanks so much! And Pinako, we salute thee. I actually want to write a lot more about her in the future. Her…disposition creates so many humorous opportunities… _


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